More than a year had passed since Nick Punto last swatted a pitch over the fence.

During that span of 356 at-bats Punto lost his job at third base, ended 2007 with a .210 batting average, became a father and went through two stints on the disabled list and, no doubt, his share of frustrations.

Punto did his best to put all that behind him Friday when the Twins’ last remaining piranha turned into a slugger on a 3-1 Paul Byrd fastball that clanged off the folded bleachers beyond right-center field and put Minnesota up 1-0 on the Cleveland Indians.

Punto added a three-run double in the eighth, boosting his average to .289 and matching Delmon Young with four runs batted in as the Twins won 12-3. Young’s three-run homer in the third gave the Twins a lead they didn’t relinquish.

This — a home run from an unexpected source, four-RBI nights from two batters and a quality start from a pitcher who worked out of jams — is how it goes for these Twins, who have lost just three times in their past 19 games and are just one game back of division leader Chicago after the White Sox lost to Oakland Friday night.

“That was nice. It’s been awhile,” Punto said of his home run. “Someone told me it was 356 at-bats. That’s a long time, but it felt good, got some good wood on it.”

Minnesota’s lineup had little trouble making contact. Nine Twins combined for 15 hits, the biggest of which came at a good time.

The Twins already were batting a major league-best .288 with two outs and runners in scoring position before Young hit the three-run homer with two outs in the third, giving Minnesota a 5-2 lead. It was his first three-run homer as a Twin and just Minnesota’s second since May 28.

Add an atypical Punto homer to Young’s season-high four RBIs, and a Twins victory seemingly would be in the bag, especially because they were facing a pitcher who had lost four straight starts and a team on a five-game losing streak. But the Indians made it interesting.

Twins starter Livan Hernandez gave up a two-run homer in the third, a solo homer in the sixth and twice pitched out of jams with two runners on base during his six-inning, three-run start.

With two on and no outs in the sixth, Hernandez said he chose to walk Shin-Soo Choo so he could face Casey Blake instead.

“I don’t want (anybody) to beat me. I want the guy I want to beat me,” said Hernandez, 3-1 with a 2.67 earned-run average in his past four starts. “Like Blake … I think that’s the ballgame there. I face Blake and I strike him out, the next guy line drive to center field and the next guy fly ball and that’s the inning, get out of the inning perfect.”

Perfect perhaps not, but that manager Ron Gardenhire said, is what Hernandez does.

“Livo was Livo,” Gardenhire said. “He pitched in and out of trouble and never gave in to anybody and made pitches when he had to. That’s kind of what he does. He gave us a solid six innings out there, kept us on the edge of our seats, but that’s what he does.”

Playing in front of a sparse July 4th crowd of 22,634, the Twins responded with what they’ve been doing lately — hitting. Young went 3 for 5 with four RBIs and three runs scored, Jason Kubel went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored and Justin Morneau went 2 for 3 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs.

The Twins worked Byrd for six runs, then knocked in another six against Cleveland’s deteriorated bullpen.

“A good night,” Gardenhire said. “A nice Fourth of July inside. That’s a good thing.”

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